NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced the launch of operation Eastern Sentry to strengthen the alliance’s eastern flank following the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, Reuters reported on Friday.
“It's reckless and unacceptable. We can't have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” Rutte said when announcing the operation, standing alongside NATO's top commander, U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich. He added that Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have all joined in the effort.
The mission, which began Friday evening, involves a range of assets integrating air and ground bases. The announcement did not specify how many troops would take part in the new operation. It mentioned only a limited number of additional assets: two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale jets from France, and four Eurofighter jets from Germany. No further details have been released.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier pledged to deploy Rafale fighter jets to help defend Polish airspace.
Grynkewich said the new mission is aimed at taking a more flexible approach to defending the alliance’s entire eastern flank, rather than relying on static forces in one area.
«Across the eastern flank, we will constantly adjust and change our posture in a manner that keeps the adversary off guard, but also responds to specific threats as we see them emerging,» he explained.
On Thursday, Sept. 11, Poland asked its allies to provide additional air defense systems and counter-drone technologies to better protect against Russian incursions. NATO forces shot down drones that crossed into Poland early on Sept. 10 during Russia’s latest large-scale airstrike on Ukraine.
Poland closed the airspace along its eastern border with Belarus and Ukraine for three months following the incursion. Latvia has introduced similar measures, but for a shorter period of time.
